Auto News 5

There’s more to Porsche these days than just a pretty face. And to prove it, the firm used its Bologna stand to showcase green technology, as well as its latest supercars.Getting their first European unveiling and taking pride of place was the Boxster and the new Cayman, driven this week, both of which are now offered with the firm’s new PDK auto shifter. Full story...

Italy's wildest supercar builder is back in black. Full story...

Nissan could face shortages of components if the US auto industry goes into meltdown, according to a leading executive at the Japanese-owned business. Full story...

Vietnam has recorded its fourth consecutive month of falling car sales, figures out today show. Full story...

American Axle and Manufacturing said today it acquired a 50,000-square-foot axle gear factory in Fort Wayne, Ind., from FormTech Industries LLC. In exchange for the FormTech plant, American Axle sold its Tonawanda, N.Y. Full story...

As it shrinks some of its unionized North American operations, American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. is expanding its nonunion forged parts business. Full story...

Lawmakers today renewed calls for the Bush administration to give the Detroit 3 part of the $700 billion designated to bail out the financial sector. Full story...

Car sales in China fell for the third month so far this year in November, data released this week shows. Full story...

Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., raised the possibility today of an interim rescue package for the Detroit 3. Full story...

Taganrog Automobile Plant (TagAZ), based in the Rostov region, has assembled the first batch of Chery cars last month, Rostov Deputy Governor Sergei Nazarov told a news conference at Interfax. Full story...

Honda Motor Co. has pulled out of Formula One racing to save more than $200 million a year. President Takeo Fukui wants to sell the team and won't field a car when the next season starts in March. Engines also won't be supplied to other teams. Full story...

Skoda will start production of its new sport utility vehicle Yeti in the last week of May 2009, Czech daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) has reported. Full story...

General Motors said today it is cutting shifts at three North American assembly plants in response to declining demand in a move that will lay off almost 2,000 union-represented factory workers. Full story...

Two weeks of annual leave still needed taking. Lots of late-autumn chores needed doing around the house. The last two weeks of November should be quiet so Dave Leggett and the rest of the just-auto team can handle the news. Or so I thought. You know how it turned out. The Detroit Big Three faced up to looming liquidity crises but were sent home from their first trip Washington to concoct more detailed plans for state aid. Markets everywhere continued to tank. Assembly lines were idled for days or months, more workers faced losing their jobs. And it ain't over yet. In a quarter-century of covering this industry and close to two decades more as an interested observer, I don't think I've ever seen things as bad, though the 1970s oil crises ran it close. Full story...

The South Korean government is looking at the possibility of tax cuts for its struggling automakers, local press has reported. The news comes as the latest figures from the country show double-digit falls for the industry in November. Full story...

In what can best be described as a surprise, Audi said on Friday that it will not be represented by its factory team, Audi Sport North America, in the 2009 American Le Mans Series. Full story...

The Formula One world has been turned upside down by Honda's decision to pull out of the sport effective immediately. Full story...

Volkswagen used the Bologna auto show to roll out the Scirocco Studie R concept. And what we see is pointing the way to a car we expect to replace the Golf R32 in VW's lineup about a year from now. This new car is likely to be called the R20T. Full story...

Australia's treasurer Wayne Smith has today announced plans to boost the country's ailing car industry. Full story...

The continued market downturn for the auto industry has resulted in a "significant decline" in sales for BMW in November. Full story...